Mumurs: News That Always Has Room For One More Guest.

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The City Council later this month is expected to make it legal for the home-rental marketplace Airbnb
to operate in Portland. The decision will give Airbnb a legitimacy it
lacks in other cities, including New York, which is cracking down on the
company that matches homeowners with tenants looking for a short-term
rental. The new Portland rules would require that property owners live
in the homes they put up for rent (“Suite Surrender,” WW, March 19, 2014). Airbnb continues to lobby to have apartments and condos included under the rules.
Meanwhile, Airbnb isn’t waiting for the formal go-ahead to start
collecting hotel taxes. On July 1, the San Francisco-based startup began
charging homeowners an 11.5 percent city and county hotel tax, making
Portland the first city where Airbnb collects government fees.

Since 2009, Club Rouge has served as Portland’s “only truly upscale gentlemen’s club.” But the Portland Police Bureau is targeting the liquor license for the strip club, located at 403 SW Stark St. A June 2 letter to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission from Capt. Mark Kruger
of the bureau’s drugs and vice division says police may give an
“unfavorable recommendation” against license renewal because the
applicant “is not of good repute and moral character.” OLCC records show
the licensee is Rouge PDX LLC, run by Zombie HoldingsLLC, which is managed by Milwaukie lawyer Jeremy Swanlund.
Police declined to discuss their objections to Club Rouge’s owners.
Swanlund says he’s aware the city may oppose the license renewal but
doesn’t know why. “I think it will be resolved through the process,” he
adds. “I don’t think it’s very serious.” The OLCC has to conduct
its own investigation if police make a negative recommendation, but in
the end it may choose to renew the license, which expired June 30. The
liquor agency has granted the club an extension while police complete
their review.

A Multnomah Athletic Club
employee says he was sexually harassed by his supervisor but that the
exclusive club didn’t take action after he reported the problem. In his
complaint, filed with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries on June
19, Brian McMorris says he hired on at MAC as a caterer in 2012. He says
his male supervisor grabbed McMorris’ buttocks and “didn’t remove [his hand] after I asked multiple times. I had to remove it myself.”
The complaint says the supervisor called McMorris “sweetie” and “baby”
and then cut his hours after McMorris told management. McMorris, who
still works at MAC, didn’t respond to WW’s request for comment. A
club official also declined to comment on the allegations. “We take any
claims of harassment very seriously,” says Alison Beppler, the club’s
human resources director, “and address those promptly.”